Daggett Trucking

It often surprises me what memories from my childhood remain so vivid.  My dad, Clarence LaSelle, was born and raised in Frazee, Minnesota (I have written here about their claim to fame with their annual Turkey Days), and he never lost his strong attachment to that town.  He often talked about his admiration of Vern Daggett who started Daggett Trucking with nothing and built it into a huge business from the little berg of Frazee.  Dad would always add that Vern was a very good employer too.  That would mean a lot to my dad.  He had a huge sense of right.   To this day when I catch a glimpse of a Daggett semi on the road I smile remembering my dad's affection for the company.  Here is the Daggett Trucking story from their website proving, once again, that intention is what creates greatness.

http://www.daggetttruck.com/

History
 

D.W. Daggett arrived in Frazee in 1896 at the age of fourteen. He was an energetic young man who soon owned a livery stable. Among his early drayage contracts were hauling supplies and men to the winter lumber camps for the mill at Frazee. Later he began building roads using only horsepower.

Trucks became a natural evolution in this business with the first three trucks being purchased in 1919. They were used for hauling gravel in the summer, potatoes in the fall and pulpwood in the winter. By 1925, Vern was gathering livestock in the surrounding area and hauling them into the railroad yards in frazee for shipment to South St. Paul.

In 1930, Vern began hauling this livestock into the new Armour Packing plant at West Fargo, N.D. he would then pick up a load of hay on the way home and sell it to the farmers in Frazee area. An occasional trip to the South St. Paul stockyards would also be made

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The 1931 International A-2, pictured, was never a working truck for Daggett Truck Line. It was purchased in 1967 from an Audubon farmer with only 36,000 miles on it.


D.W. Daggett and his son Vernon had a model A-5. It was a long wheel base single axle dual tired straight truck with a 28 ft. bed. Whenever Vern would load the truck full of cows, he always had tire trouble! The A-5 was the pride of D.W. because it could haul so much wool from his farms. However, one winter when D.W. was gone, Vernon had the frame cut out and made a road tractor out of the A-5. The room became very silent when D.W. returned and found out what his son had done to his favorite truck!

The Union Stockyards at West Fargo opened in 1935 and most of the livestock was now taken there. Vern also began hauling livestock and horses to packing plants in Duluth, St. Paul and Austin, Minnesota from West Fargo.

Many other businesses were added to supplement the trucking. Farm machinery, trucks, and home appliances in 1933, automobiles in 1939. As the Truck Line grew, the other businesses were phased out.

 

Construction of the present offices and maintenance shop were began in 1959 on 22 acres of land west of Frazee. Several buildings have been added during the past 35 years. They would now cover a football field if the buildings were connected.

Until 1960, livestock was the only haul for Daggett. Loads originating at West Fargo, and Winnipeg, Manitoba were hauled to packing plants in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Washington. During the 1960's, the trucks began loading out of several Montana and North Dakota sales barns and ranches, as shippers began preferring trucks to trains for their loads.

The first two refrigerated trailers were purchased in 1960 to begin hauling frozen turkeys from area turkey plants to the Midwest and east coast.

Our trucks now transport frozen foods, snack foods, pet food, produce and manufactured goods from Minnesota to most major cities in the midwest and throughout the United States. These trucks return with processed foods or raw materials for local manufacturers.

This Model DCOF-405 (Diesel Cab-over Four Drive Wheels), pictured below, was purchased new in 1963. It was commonly referred to as the "Emeryville" since the trucks were first produced about 1956 at the International Harvester plant in Emeryville, CA.

 

Daggett Idealease was formed in 1982 and supplies transportation equipment to area manufacturers and food processors under long term lease contracts.

Daggett Brokerage began in 1992 and is located in the Clearwater Travel Plaza complex at Clearwater, Minnesota. Most of the owner operator fleet is dispatched from this office and they also successfully load many independent truck operators.


Daggett Truck Line Fleet 1973

 




 

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